South Africa Covid-19 cases with Omicron fueling the Surge. The South African Covid-19 case has nearly quadrupled since Tuesday, fueling Omicron waves.
This is the lab where Omicron was discovered.
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| South Africa Covid-19 cases with Omicron fueling the surge |
South Africa’s Kovid-19 cases have nearly quadrupled in the last four days as the country moves into the fourth wave of the epidemic, raising concerns about how contagious a new coronavirus omicron variant could be.
South Africa Covid-19 cases with Omicron fueling the surge
South Africa reported 16,055 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, 4,373 new cases on Tuesday.
According to data published by the country's National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 has exceeded 3 million since the epidemic began on Friday.
"Today, the Institute has identified 16,055 new COVID-19 cases in South Africa, bringing the total number of cases confirmed in the laboratory to 3,004,203. This increase represents a positive rate of 24.3 percent," the statement said.
South Africa Covid-19 cases with Omicron fueling the surge
On Thursday, the NICD further revealed that in some new cases there were people who had previously had Covid-19 and were re-infected by a variant of Omicron.
"Previous infections protected the delta, but now Omicron doesn't seem to have it anymore," Prof. Ann von Gotberg, a microbiologist at the country's National Institute of Infectious Diseases, told a press conference on Thursday.
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"We saw ... a retransmission for beta and delta waves, and when the transition strength changes when the wave stops, we haven't seen more retransmission than expected. However, we are seeing an increase for Omicon , " he said.
South Africa Covid-19 cases with Omicron fueling the surge
Professor Gottberg said South African data showed that reinfection may be less severe.
"We believe ... the disease will be less severe," Gottberg said. "And this is what in South Africa we are trying to demonstrate and monitor very carefully. And so are those who will be vaccinated," he added, noting that vaccines will help prevent serious illness and hospitalization. Growth at a "rapid" pace.
The death toll appears to be relatively more stable as the number of new cases continues to rise, with 25 new Covid-19-related deaths reported on Friday, the NICD said.
Although only a limited number of confirmed coronavirus cases have been sequenced in the country, Gotberg said 183 out of 249 cases were confirmed as omicon variants as of November, accounting for 70-75 percent of cases. According to the NICD, a total of 65,990 tests have been performed in the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has also announced that it will deploy an emergency team in Gauteng Province, the current epicenter of the Omicron outbreak, to assist in monitoring, sequencing and finding communications.
Related Article: South African researchers find evidence people more easily reinfected with Omicron variant than with other variants
The WHO will provide technical assistance to increase the production and distribution of medical oxygen in Botswana, where Omicron has also been taken. Salam Gui, WHO Regional Emergency Director for Africa.
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